Yeah, the Ely area has some great fishing, especially for Smallies. However, there is quite a few stocked trout lakes near there as well. I'm not sure what you are looking for (stream fishing, lake fishing, float tube fishing, guided fishing, etc. ) If you give me some more specifics (time of year?, I can maybe give some more specifics back . There is some trout fishing in the Bemidji area a few streams, but mainly stocked lakes. MN is just not like out West, it's hard to explain, but most of our lakes are bigger, contain walleye and one needs to cover a lot of water, etc. Another great trip is a float trip down the Upper Mississippi with Tim Holschag fishing for smallies Smallmouth Angler, Bass, Fishing, Book (and yes, that's me on his website). Personally, I generally flyfish SW Wisconsin for trout with most of my other fishing dedicated to pounding walleyes on our rivers.